Alois thoma



A. THOMA.

. smelting Furnace. No. 70.046. I Patented Oct. 22, 1867.

ignites rates item: ffirr. I

ALOIS THOMA, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, SAMUEL BROMBERG, AND ARTEMUS W. WILDER, OF THE SAME, PLACE. Letters Patent No. 70,046, dated October 22, 1867.

IMPROVED FURNACE FOR SMELTING IRON ORE.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, ALOIS THOMA, of the .city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Furnace for smelting Ore; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-- Figure 1 represents a vertical longitudinal section of my improved smelting-furnace.

Figure -2 is a vertical transverse section of the same. a

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the same, the plane of section being indicated by the line a: :r, fig. 1.

Similar letters or reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to a new smelting-furnace, for preparing roasted and reduced iron ore for use, and for separating the metal contained therein from the earthy and foreign substances.

By this invention the treatment of ore according to my improved method is completed, the roasting process, as well as the reducing process, having been described in other applications filed herewith.

The invention consists in so arranging the furnace that the ore can be drawn off on two sides, so that it can, from one side, be carried to a suitable furnace for further immediate treatment, while on the other side it can be moulded into ordinary pig iron.

The invention also consists in such an arrangement of the furnace that the carbonic oxide, escaping from the fuel and ore, and uniting with the nitrogen of the blast, thus forming a combustible gas, maybe retained.

for further use, so that the gas thus produced may be employed for the roasting process.

A represents the furnace, built of brick or other suitable material, and lined onthe inside with fire-brick in the ordinary manner. The chamber B, formed in the furnace, is of truncated inverted pyramidal form, with an upper part, C, which has upright walls, and which is somewhat shorter and narrower than the upper part of the chamber 33. The furnace is set upon a suitable foundation, Thelower part of the chamber Bhas two discharge-channels D D, in each of which a dam-stone, E, is arranged, as is clearly shown in fig. ll. F F

are tuyeres of suitable construction, arranged in the walls of the furnace, to conduct the air-blast into the chamber B.

The ore, roasted and frecd from arsenic, sulphur, phosphorus, and oxygen, is placed into the chamber B, in alternate layers with coke or charcoal. The fuel is ignited, and air blown through the tuyercs into the fur nace, and the iron becomes gradually melted by the enormous heat. The carbonic acid discharged from the burning fuel and melting iron unites with the nitrogen of the air, and the gas thus produced will burr. when discharged from the furnace to any other place. To save this gas the upper chamber C is arranged, and is made narrower than the upper part of the chamber B, so as to form a shoulder, a, around the inside of the furnace, as shown in the drawings. I i

It has been noticed. that the aforesaid gases do not ascend from all parts of the heap, but generally keep to the wall of the furnace, and rise along thewalls. They will therefore, on their passage up, strike the shoulder a, and will thereby be conducted into the funnel-shaped onds'of horizontal channels 6 6, arranged in the walls of the furnace, as shown" more particularly in fig. 3. These channels receive the aforesaid gases, and

the same may be carried off to the roasting-kiln, or to any other suitable place, to be used for heating purposes The channels Z2 6 have extensions 0 to the outside, closed byblocks d. The same are for the purpose of allowing the channels 5 to be cleaned. Itis' desirable to keep the furnace at work without interruption, and as the channels could not be cleaned unless the gases were discharged for the time, through some other channel, the channels 6 have been connected with upright chimneys e e, which are generally closed by plnt-esf, but which are opened when the channels are to be cleaned.

The molten iron accumulates at the bottom of the furnace, and can be drawn off, from time to time, through openings in the sides of the dam-stones, which are tapped at intervals. The slag or scoria, floating upon the molten iron, flows over the top of the dam=stones,- and is thus discharged.

In charging this furnace the diiferent kinds of ore should'be assorted in the ordinary manner, and, if desired, mixed with lime or some other flux, as is at present done in all smelting-furnaces.

I claim as new, and desire to secure'by Letters Patent 1. Arresting the gases arising from smelting-furnaces, so that they May be used for the roasting or some other process, substantially asherein shown and described.

2. Providing a smelting-furnace with two dischargc-channelsD D, having suitable dam-stones E E, sub stantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

3. The channels 6 b, when arranged in a smelting-furnace, to retain and carry off the gases, as set forth.

4. The shoulder a, when formed in the charge-chamber of the furnace, in combination with the channels b b, all made and operating substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

5. The channels I; b in a smelting-furnace, when combined with the channels 0, blocks or doors (2, and chimneys e, all made and operating substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

ALOIS THOMA.

Witnesses:

WM. F. MGNAMARA, ALEX. F. ROBERTS. 

